History VideoGame / SagaFrontier

* DaylightHorror: The Bio Research Lab. The color palette is very bright (even by the standards of this game), it's a beautiful, well-lit laboratory with soothing white walls, blue floors and green trees, and [[SoundtrackDissonance the music]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlGXCGjMeNk very beautiful and otherworldly]] - haunting, but not in itself horrifying. And then you walk into the scientists, read their lines, and [[BodyHorror hear screams as they change into monsters]] - and as you piece together just what the hell is going on with this place, all of the above just seems creepier and creepier.

* ScaryShinyGlasses: Dr. Nusakan

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Fifteen, in three parties of five. Only one party can take part in any given battle. If you would go over fifteen, someone has to leave - which can be a problem when people automatically join in some quests. Averted in the Remaster as extra characters who are recruited after filling in the fifteen slots are simply set aside in a standby category, free to be swapped out with in-party characters at any given time.

* BagOfSharing: Averted. Each character has his or her own inventory, but the person equipped with the 'backpack' item can use anything not equipped to anyone else.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Averted in Blue's ending, in which he fights Hell's Lord for eternity.]]

* InformedEquipment: Whether you've got on the strongest equipment in the game or charge into battle naked, the sprite remains the same. Averted in the case of exactly four swords--Asura, {{Kusanagi}}, Light Sword, and Ray Sword are colored differently in battle than any other. Shields are also colored differently depending on which you have, but only appear when being used.

* LuckBasedMission: Riki's fight against the Ring Lord Virgil, as he and his crew are required to score combos of 3 or more. Which can easily be averted by using DSC as it is a combo in itself, it doesn't link with other allies during a combination attack.

* SecretFinalCampaign: Averted in the original, and [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] in ''Remastered''. Fuse's scenario (exclusive to the Remaster) is unlocked after you complete any character's storyline, and expands as you complete additional storylines, eventually allowing you to fight all of the final bosses and recruit nearly every party member in the game.

* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: Averted and played straight at separate points in Asellus's story. Mesarthim will put anything she's carrying back into your inventory when she leaves, but [[spoiler:White Rose isn't as generous once she chooses to stay in the Labyrinth]]. Also played straight in Red's story: after you defeat the pirate attack on the Cygnus, Fuse, Roufas, Asellus, and White Rose all leave your party, taking everything on them with them. Fuse and Roufas can be recruited again later, but Asellus and White Rose can't.

* UselessUsefulSpell:
** Tower. It IS incredibly powerful. Sometimes. When it's not, it does as little as 500 damage. And it uses all your JP, so you only get one shot.
** Thoroughly averted with Sphinx’s Riddle, an instant death spell. Not only is it very accurate, but it’s obtainable very early on in Red’s story.

* BuxomIsBetter: Emilia [[DefiedTrope doesn't think so]]. When she reads the porno mag, she's disgusted by the star's disproportionate assets. Red, on the other hand, is quite thrilled, and [[StraightGay Asellus]] is more attracted than she wants to be. [=T260G=] simply calculates the model's measurements, then nearly crashes when trying to calculate her IQ level. Riki innocently mentions to Meiling that the model is not wearing clothes and asks if she's hot or something. Blue/Rouge [[NotDistractedByTheSexy just finds the book useless to him]]. Lute looks really thrilled at first, but then remarks that he'd rather see the real thing than just looking at the mag. Fuse is just baffled at the mindset, "Young girls these days..."

* PreexistingEncounters

* TheManBehindTheMan: Black X is lead by a cyborg or mech with the same name. Immediately after he's defeated, Doctor Klein reveals he's truly the one in charge. Then after Klein is defeated, Boss X appears and claims *he's* the one in charge.

** Rosemary and her brother, Thyme.

* EveryEpisodeEnding: Though there's variations, each 'section' of each characters game (such as rescuing Mesarthim in Asellus's, or receiving the Gift for a school of magic in Blue's,) is ended with a picture of a character involved in it.

* MagicAIsMagicA: A few basic rules to it- A) No one person can learn magic from opposing schools (Light & Shadow, Mind & Evil, Rune & Tarot, Time & Space, and Realm & Mystic,) B) Without the Gift, you cannot learn more powerful spells. [[spoiler:Blue and Rouge]] were specifically created to break Rule A. Mind Magic has a rule of its own- Only humans can obtain the Gift for it. In addition, according to books in the Magic Kingdom, by mastering both Light and Shadow magic, one can learn Life Magic, and Mirage magic was lost to the ages, eventually becoming Mystic and Shadow.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: In the third battle against Metal Black, he takes Alkaiser's signature move, Al-Phoenix, and turns it back on him with Dark-Al-Phoenix, a very damaging move that Metal Black had no indication of using before. After it's used on Alkaiser, ''[[GuideDangIt and for this battle only]]'', is Alkaiser has a free technique slot and uses Al-Phoenix, he'll always learn Re-Al-Phoenix, which takes the original power and turns it up to eleven, becoming his strongest attack.

* JustEatHim: Tanzer swallows airships whole, and the people inside the airships can cope for a while
* JustifiedTutorial:
** Arguably, Blue's entire game, as his quest to master as much magic as possible is one the player is likely to repeat in every character's game.
** Lute inevitably stumbles his way through many of the same sidequests as Blue on his journey.

* LiteralSplitPersonality

* GratuitousEnglish: How the final boss of Red's scenario introduces himself in the Japanese version [[note]]I am the real Master of BlackCross.I control everything I rule everyreagion. You shall die![[/note]].

There was also a cut 8th story due to time constraints, but the Remastered version promises to bring this story to light:

* DarkIsNotEvil: Monsters are quite commonplace in the world, quite sentient, and can be friendly. Even the skeletal and undead ones. And let's not forget the monster you save from the Shrike Bio Labs, Cotton, who's actually an IRPO agent.

* DevelopersRoom: Reached after you've completed all seven stories. You can speak with the developers, listen to the soundtrack, and fight the bosses of the other character's games with the group you most recently cleared with, among other things.

* DiscOneNuke: The Asura in Asellus's game-- sure, you need to give up 3 LP to get it, but it's of the strongest three swords in the game, has an instant death effect, ''and'' a counter attack on it that works even if the user is killed by the attack. And can be obtained in about the first ten to fifteen minutes of her story. Notably, Asellus actually starts with significantly higher LP than most of the main characters, enough that paying 3 for her is like paying 1 for anyone else. One suspects they had this in mind.

* DoppelgangerAttack: A few of the sword moves, such as Godless, Haze-To-Wheel, and ESPECIALLY the visually appealing Life Sprinkler. In addition, the Shadow Servant spell, which creates a clone of you that copies every move you use.

* DualWielding: Possible, and required by some moves, like Cross Slash and Twin Gale Slash.

* EvilTwin: Oddly enough, Blue could considered the evil twin to Rouge. The former is perfectly willing to manipulate whoever he needs to to kill his brother, while the latter is generally friendly, and in-game, will join anyone's quest, unlike Blue who outright refuses to join Red simply because he doesn't like his name.
** [[AllThereInTheManual According to Essence]], Blue was indeed the bad twin. He also canonically lost his fight to Rouge, who also got space magic from Kylin without killing the beast or destroying Paradise, went into Hell alone knowing it would be a one-way trip, and managed to escape from Hell after hearing the voices of his friends.

** Zozma bears an uncanny resemblance to ''{{Franchise|Street Fighter}}'s'' Akuma- He's even able to use Evil magic and shares Akuma's DarkIsNotEvil traits (in fact, Zozma is a lot nicer than Akuma).

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Red is unable to transform into Alkaiser when the humans in his group are healthy, because it would give away his secret identity.

* GottaCatchEmAll: The nine rings of power in Riki's game.
** There's also the four Arcana Tarot cards and four Rune Stones.

* GunsAkimbo: The Two Gun ability, which lets the user... hold two guns.
** This ability was renamed to "Guns Akimbo" in the remaster.

* InformedEquipment: Whether you've got on the strongest equipment in the game or charge into battle naked, the sprite remains the same.
** Averted in the case of exactly four swords--Asura, {{Kusanagi}}, Light Sword, and Ray Sword are colored differently in battle than any other. Shields are also colored differently depending on which you have, but only appear when being used.

* JackassGenie: [[spoiler:The 9 Rings of Power. When Riki wishes for Margmel to be reborn, all those that were not there when it was first created vanish.]]

* LockedOutOfTheFight: In order to get the gift for Mind Magic, each character fights a group of monsters, alone.

* MagicAIsMagicA: A few basic rules to it- A) No one person can learn magic from opposing schools (Light & Shadow, Mind & Evil, Rune & Tarot, Time & Space, and Realm & Mystic,) B) Without the Gift, you cannot learn more powerful spells. [[spoiler:Blue and Rouge]] were specifically created to break Rule A.
** Mind Magic has a rule of its own- Only humans can obtain the Gift for it.
** In addition, according to books in the Magic Kingdom, by mastering both Light and Shadow magic, one can learn Life Magic, and Mirage magic was lost to the ages, eventually becoming Mystic and Shadow.

* MagikarpPower: [=T260's=] original body. While it starts with only 5 in each stat and one piece of equipment, and the other models have fancy gadgets like laser cannons and repairkits, it has the potential to be the strongest in the game, since Mecs level up by the equipment they have on, and the original body has the most available slots.

* MeaningfulName: In Japanese, Orlouge's mistresses are named via the GoroawaseNumber system--Shirobara Hime's (White Rose) number is 46, which is pronounced "Shi-roku," or "shi-ro" (white) in Japanese. Kinjishi Hime's (Golden Lion) number is 44, which is pronouced "shi-shi" (lion) in Japanese. Due to the adjective "kin" or "gold" attached to the noun, "shi-shi" becomes "ji-shi."

* MirrorBoss: When you battle Rouge in Blue's game, you find that he's learned the exact opposite types of magic you have. In addition, his (magic-related) stats are the same as yours.

* MutuallyExclusiveMagic: As detailed in MagicAIsMagicA, no one can have the gift for both a school of magic and its opposite, though you can still buy spells from opposing schools. [[spoiler:Except Blue and Rouge, who are specifically designed to break this rule.]]
** With the help of a couple items in the game that allow you to cast a spell from certain schools, it is possible for someone with the gift of Rune Magic or Mystic Magic to have some Arcane or Realm spells and then use the item to regain all the spells of the gifted school.
* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: In addition to certain races and other characters not being found in certain quests, Red and Blue cannot be recruited in any other quest except for their own. [[spoiler:Blue's ''brother'', on the other hand, can be sought out on almost all of them, alluding in a way to the fact that he's considered the ''good'' guy for Blue's own quest. And also that they are ''two halves of the same person''.]]

* OlderThanSheLooks: Not that you can tell by the sprites, but Asellus is a 29 year old who looks 17.
** [[spoiler:Red comments on this if you talk to her on the Cygnus, since she used to babysit him when he was a kid and she still looks the same as he remembers despite twelve years passing.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Mystics are basically vampires. They're immortal, can be created from humans, some of them sleep in coffins (the princesses are shown to, but everyone else we dunno), and many of them are nobles. But they don't drink blood. They have mystic weapons that absorb souls.
** Though at one point Asellus suggests that she might suck Riki's blood.

* PermanentlyMissableContent: You can only enter Despair once. If you miss anything, you don't get another chance. This means that in Emilia's quest, only Emilia, Annie, and Liza gain the gift of Rune Magic (because they're the only ones present to get the Freedom Rune).
** Likewise, Tanzer is a one-time-only dungeon. For most characters, that's not an issue, because you're locked in until you complete it. But Blue can teleport out before getting the Vitality Rune by using his Region Map... at which point he's boned because he can't go back for it. Likewise, although Riki ''can'' get the Freedom Rune when he visits Despair in his quest, he's forced to complete Tanzer the first time he leaves Koorong, before he can even ''start'' the Rune quest at Devin, blocking him from ever getting the gift for Rune magic.

* PointOfNoReturn: Hell in Blue's game, Mondo's base in Lute's, the Black Ray in Red's, the Yorkland mountains in Emilia's, and [[spoiler:the [=RB3 ship=]]] in [=T260G's=]. Saving in any of these places before you're trained well enough can make the game {{Unwinnable}}.

* SpeechBubbles: Your words are a different color than normal [=NPC=]s. Even if you come across them in the other characters' stories, protagonists' words will usually be whatever color they are in their own game.
** In Asellus's game, Mystics' text is in blue.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: [=Vadjoueal/Virgil/Vergil=], [=Schoether/Shuzer=], [=Meiren/Mei-Ling=], [=Kylin/Kirin/Kyrin=], [=Time/Thyme=], [=Ciato/Scheat=], [=Furdo/Furud=] and [=Ildon/Yildun=].
** Lots of translation artifacts, here. "Koorong" instead of "Kowloon" is another.

* UselessUsefulSpell: Tower. It IS incredibly powerful. Sometimes. When it's not, it does as little as 500 damage. And it uses all your JP, so you only get one shot.

** Asellus is railroaded to Bio Research Lab, because the Yorkland Swamp can end up being a place where events in her story occur.

** Zozma bears an uncanny resemblance to [[StreetFighter Street Fighter's]] Akuma- He's even able to use Evil magic and shares Akuma's DarkIsNotEvil traits (in fact, Zozma is a lot nicer than Akuma).

* LensFlare: Alkaiser and Alkarl's "Bright Fist" and "Shining Kick" attacks. The regular martial arts move "Gold Hand" takes this UpToEleven, with rotating LensFlare around the target.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: In the third battle against Metal Black, he takes Alkaiser's signature move, Al-Phoenix, and turns it back on him with Dark-Al-Phoenix, a very damaging move that Metal Black had no indication of using before. After it's used on Alkaiser, ''[[GuideDangIt and for this battle only]]'', is Alkaiser has a free technique slot and uses Al-Phoenix, he'll always learn Re-Al-Phoenix, which takes the original power and turns it UpToEleven, becoming his strongest attack.

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Human characters can learn grappling attacks when their barehand abilities are high enough. Taken UpToEleven if any learn the DSC tech, which is a (random) combo of throws and slams, having the potential to do damage over the 10,000s.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There are a total of 31 characters that can be recruited, plus 7 playable characters, some of which can ''also'' be recruited.
** There were supposed to be eight of them. Fuse is on the title screen, but was cut due to the time crunch. The remastered version has his scenario being added to it as a selling point.

* SwissArmyWeapon: The IRPO's Hand Blaster, which can be used as a laser gun, a beam sword, or a [[StunGuns paralyzer.]]

* StandardStatusEffects: And they actually tend to hit the enemies, too. Petrify especially proves useful. Unfortunately it works the other way, too. Being Charmed or Confused can be a massive pain in the neck.

* NonlethalKO: When your HP runs out, your character is knocked out and loses a life point. If they continue to get hit and lose all their life points, the character is KilledOffForReal. If happens to the main character, it's Game Over, with a short message saying [Character Name] is dead.

** In Red's story, after you recruit Annie, you can recruit either Roufas or Liza - but only one of them.

* PunnyName: The AGUNI [[DontExplainTheJoke (agony)]] line of guns. It's also possible they were supposed to be AGNI, which is still funny.

* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: Averted and played straight at separate points in Asellus's story. Mesarthim will put anything she's carrying back into your inventory when she leaves, but [[spoiler:White Rose isn't as generous once she chooses to stay in the Labyrinth]].

* TheTragicRose

** In the Remaster, although Fuse can influence some decisions during his Case Files, other events are predetermined, such as Asellus dealing with the Bio Research Lab, the types of magic that Blue/Rouge obtain, and [=T260G=] not being in its default form when confronting the FinalBoss.

** Red: The IRPO is constantly one step behind Alkaiser in taking down [=BlackX=], but while gathering the evidence needed to properly incarcerate its members, Fuse [[spoiler:figures out the superhero's true identity]]. After helping take down the organization's head, Fuse then [[spoiler:arrests Dr. Klein and offers Red a position in the IRPO]].
** Riki: By arresting the Caballero Family and obtaining their ring before Riki even shows up, Fuse is the one managing the set, preventing them from [[spoiler:being taken by Mei-Ling or used to reboot Margmel]] in the climax.

** Asellus: Aside from helping Asellus deal with some assassins and the Bio Research Lab, Fuse's raid on Orlogue's castle leads to [[spoiler:accidentally passing through the Dark Labyrinth, getting one of Orlogue's minions trapped in the process. This allows White Rose to leave the Labyrinth and be present for the ending]].

** Riki: By arresting the Caballero Family and obtaining their ring before Riki even shows up, Fuse is the one managing the collection, preventing them from [[spoiler:being taken by Mei-Ling or used to reboot Margmel]] in the climax.

** Likewise, Tanzer is a one-time-only dungeon. For most characters, that's not an issue, because you're locked in until you complete it. But Blue can teleport out before getting the Rune by using his Region Map... at which point he's boned because he can't go back for it. This also means that Riki can't complete the Rune Quest because before he can get to Devin to obtain the Rune pebbles, he's railroaded to Tanzer to get the Thief Ring without even dealing with the Vitality Rune and then never to return there, so by initiating the Rune Quest afterwards, the whole Quest can't be finished (even though the Warden of Despair allows him to take the Freedom Rune), therefore blocking him to get the Arcane Tarots along with Fuse, Emilia and Suzaku.
* PetalPower: The katana technique "Tres Flores".

** Asellus: Aside from helping Asellus deal with some assassins and the Bio Research Lab, Fuse's raid on Orlogue's castle leads to [[spoiler:accidentally passing through the Dark Labyrinth, trapping one of Orlogue's minions trapped in the process. This allows White Rose to be present for the ending]].

** Asellus: Reading reports that Asellus has resurfaced after going missing twelve years ago, Fuse follows a lead and ends up having to fight off some of Orlogue's men. Following another lead from Cotton (who he ends up rescuing) to the Bio Research Lab, he helps Asellus escape, and then learns of Asellus' past through Zozma and Rei. Fuse decides to raid Orlogue's castle to arrest him, and in the process, [[spoiler:accidentally passes through and gets one of Orlogue's minions trapped in the Dark Labyrinth. This allows White Rose to be present for the ending, which shows Asellus taking Orlogue's position and sealing his power while Orlogue's body is thrown into Despair]].
** Blue: A failed meet-up with Silence and subsequent request from Roufas leads to Fuse having a run-in with either Blue or Rouge, getting embroiled in their rivalry. Fuse ends up expediting the search for Runes by negotiating with their current holders, and during the climax, [[spoiler:the IRPO rescues the surviving mage from being trapped in Hell]].
** Emilia: After a few flashbacks showing Fuse accidentally swapping his wedding gift to Ren (a plate with his own face on it) with actual evidence, Fuse ends up detaining Emilia, the prime suspect for Ren's death...[[spoiler:in order to protect her within Despair's impenetrable walls]]. When Emilia escapes, Fuse rushes to track her down, eventually getting a lead from Roufas about a human trafficking ring run by Trinity commander Yaruto that Emilia's gotten caught up in. At this point, the path splits, with Fuse either arresting Yaruto ([[spoiler:Mondo gets promoted and tells Fuse where Joker is, Fuse deduces Joker's identity after getting autopsy reports, Fuse fights Joker possessing Ren with Emilia arriving just in time, and then Fuse gets beaten by Emilia for causing the whole mess by accidentally swapping his wedding gift with Joker's mask]]) or finding Emilia ([[spoiler:Fuse earns Emilia's trust by namedropping Roufas, Mondo gives them both information on Joker but has a private chat with Emilia and gives her a brooch, the duo corner a Ren tired of how there's always crime no matter how much they fight against it and beat some sense into him, Fuse lets Ren keep his job as long as he works to earn Emilia's forgiveness]]).
** Lute: Fuse, placed on indefinite vacation for investigating Trinity after Mondo's promotion, is suspicious of why a calculating man like Mondo would be affiliated with someone like Lute. Fuse then gets Rabbit to leak him some reports on Mondo's connection to Lute, anti-Trinity past, and potential backstabbing and smuggling. Fuse crosses paths with Lute again while investigating the smuggling, but they get confronted by assassins when Fuse tries to share his findings, winning with Gen's help. Fuse, Lute, and Gen then follow one of Rabbit's leads, only to arrive in Manhattan as Dr. Leonard's assassinated...except that the attack was an attempt to silence him ''and Rabbit'', who was accessing Trinity's database at the time. [[BrainUploading His mind now in a Mech]], Dr. Leonard tells them of how Mondo tried to start a war between Trinity and Wakatu, which angers Gen. It's all too much for the IRPO to handle...but [[ExactWords since he's on leave from the IRPO]], Fuse takes the fight to Mondo. Getting a lift from Captain Hamilton, they foil Mondo's plan. Fuse and Lute convince Gen to keep on living, with Fuse offering to throw Mondo into Despair and make the Wakatu files public knowledge. Lute is then hired by a now more-transparent Trinity as a special advisor who keeps wandering off, though Fuse decides to put off tracking him down.

** Riki: By arresting the Caballero Family and obtaining their ring before Riki even shows up, Fuse gets cursed to complete the set, preventing the rings from [[spoiler:being taken by Mei-Ling or used to reboot Margmel]] in the climax.
** [=T260G=]: While investigating rigged matches at Junk's arena, Fuse saves Thyme from a kidnapping, earning the Mech's respect and leading them to take down the Caballero Family together. When Rabbit later reports that its research on an ancient weapon was blocked and deemed classified by Trinity, Fuse helps, leading to a meeting with Leonard, Gen, and a retrofitted [=T260G=] shortly after Leonard's BrainUploading. Fuse ends up helping beat their FinalBoss just out of duty, and offers Leonard a position at the IRPO before parting ways. As for [=T260G=], as it already began questioning what "Top Priority" really meant back when Fuse helped save Thyme, it immediately realizes the importance of returning home rather than shutting down and Gen having to reboot it.

* TheAlcatraz: Despair. While no one's ever escaped, the warden gives the inmates the chance for freedom, if they can touch the Freedom rune located within the prison. Only '''one'' person's ever done it before Emilia, Annie and Liza, and it's implied that the person who did was [[spoiler:Roufas]].